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Microbiology 2019 Apr 11;165(4):439-454. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

†​Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown St, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK.

Rapid changes in the number and flow cytometric behaviour of cells of E. coli taken from a stationary phase and inoculated into rich medium.Cells of E. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2017 Dec 8;17(1):229. Epub 2017 Dec 8.

Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Background: The 6S RNA is a global transcriptional riboregulator, which is exceptionally widespread among most bacterial phyla. While its role is well-characterized in some heterotrophic bacteria, we subjected a cyanobacterial homolog to functional analysis, thereby extending the scope of 6S RNA action to the special challenges of photoautotrophic lifestyles.

Results: Physiological characterization of a 6S RNA deletion strain (ΔssaA) demonstrates a delay in the recovery from nitrogen starvation. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2017 Nov 2;17(1):212. Epub 2017 Nov 2.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group (AEMREG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, Eastern Cape Province, 5700, South Africa.

Background: Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) remains the main causative viral pathogen of porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD) of great economic importance in pig industry globally. This present study aims at determining the occurrence of the viral pathogen in swine herds of the Province.

Results: The data obtained revealed that 15. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2017 Sep 21;17(1):201. Epub 2017 Sep 21.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554, Bivio per Sestu, I-09042, Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common diagnoses in girls and women, and to a lesser extent in boys and men younger than 50 years. Escherichia coli, followed by Klebsiella spp. and Proteus spp. Read More

Microbiology 2017 08 10;163(8):1117-1144. Epub 2017 Aug 10.

5​Institut für Genomforschung und Systembiologie, Centrum für Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany §​Present address: MVZ Dr. Eberhard & Partner Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.

Bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas are a major group of plant pathogens. They are hazardous to important crops and closely related to human pathogens. Being collectively a major focus of molecular phytopathology, an increasing number of diverse and intricate mechanisms are emerging by which they communicate, interfere with host signalling and keep competition at bay. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2017 05 25;17(1):123. Epub 2017 May 25.

Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.

Background: Phosphorylation of amino acid residues on proteins is an important and common post-translational modification in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Most research work has been focused on phosphorylation of serine, threonine or tyrosine residues, whereas phosphorylation of other amino acids are significantly less clear due to the controversy on their stability under standard bioanalytical conditions.

Results: Here we applied a shotgun strategy to analyze the histidine and aspartate phosphorylations in different microbes. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2017 02 27;17(1):45. Epub 2017 Feb 27.

SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Background: Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are emerging tick-borne pathogens that cause anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis in humans and other animals worldwide. Infections caused by these pathogens are deadly if left untreated. There has been relatively no systematic survey of these pathogens among ticks in South Africa, thus necessitating this study. Read More

Nat Rev Microbiol 2017 Mar 3;15(3):161-168. Epub 2017 Jan 3.

Departamento de Fitopatologia/BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais 36570-900, Brazil.

The number and diversity of viral sequences that are identified in metagenomic data far exceeds that of experimentally characterized virus isolates. In a recent workshop, a panel of experts discussed the proposal that, with appropriate quality control, viruses that are known only from metagenomic data can, and should be, incorporated into the official classification scheme of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Although a taxonomy that is based on metagenomic sequence data alone represents a substantial departure from the traditional reliance on phenotypic properties, the development of a robust framework for sequence-based virus taxonomy is indispensable for the comprehensive characterization of the global virome. Read More

Microbiology 2016 09 12;162(9):1595-1607. Epub 2016 Aug 12.

1​ Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK.

Gas vesicles are intracellular proteinaceous organelles that facilitate bacterial colonization of static water columns. In the enterobacterium Serratia sp. ATCC 39006, gas vesicle formation requires the proteins GvpA1, GvpF1, GvpG, GvpA2, GvpK, GvpA3, GvpF2 and GvpF3 and the three gas vesicle regulatory proteins GvrA, GvrB and GvrC. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2016 08 12;16(1):184. Epub 2016 Aug 12.

Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Background: Although semi-selective growth media have been developed for the isolation of Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria from the environment, thus far Burkholderia multivorans has rarely been isolated from such samples. Because environmental B. multivorans isolates mainly originate from water samples, we hypothesized that water rather than soil is its most likely environmental niche. Read More

Microbiology 2016 07 10;162(7):1147-56. Epub 2016 May 10.

1​ Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.

Pressmud is a substrate derived from sugarcane juice filtrate, and around 26-40  kg of this residue are produced per ton of sugarcane. It is mainly used as fertilizer in crops, and its application in the field is often made without any prior treatment, but, in this research, it was studied for the risk this practice poses for human health. This research was stimulated by previous results indicating the presence of opportunistic pathogens in residues used in various composting systems and the extensive use of fresh pressmud in agriculture. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2016 May 10;16:82. Epub 2016 May 10.

Biochemistry Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.

Background: The emergence of antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria has reduced our ability to combat infectious diseases. At the same time the numbers of new antibiotics reaching the market have decreased. This situation has created an urgent need to discover novel antibiotic scaffolds. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2016 Apr 1;16 Suppl 1:56. Epub 2016 Apr 1.

Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, Flemingovo nam. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic.

Background: Healthcare-acquired infections by pathogenic microorganisms including viruses represent significant health concern worldwide. Next to direct transmission from person-to-person also indirect transmission from contaminated surfaces is well documented and important route of infections. Here, we tested antiviral properties of hybrid coating containing silver, copper and zinc cations that was previously shown to be effective against pathogenic bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Read More

Microbiology 2016 Feb 8;162(2):246-55. Epub 2016 Jan 8.

1​ Division of Industrial & Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), PO Box 14155-6343, Tehran, Iran.

Among nine cyanobacterial strains isolated from oil-contaminated regions in southern Iran, an isolate with maximum cadmium uptake capacity was selected and identified on the basis of analysis of morphological criteria and 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity as Nostoc entophytum (with 99% similarity). The isolate was tentatively designated N. entophytum ISC32. Read More

Nat Rev Microbiol 2015 12 9;13(12):777-86. Epub 2015 Nov 9.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.

Viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophages; also known as phages) were discovered 100 years ago. Since then, phage research has transformed fundamental and translational biosciences. For example, phages were crucial in establishing the central dogma of molecular biology - information is sequentially passed from DNA to RNA to proteins - and they have been shown to have major roles in ecosystems, and help drive bacterial evolution and virulence. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2015 Oct 16;15:213. Epub 2015 Oct 16.

SA-MRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.

Background: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is a well-recognized cause of bloody diarrhea and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). The ability of STEC strains to cause human disease is due to the production of Shiga toxins. The objectives of this study were to determinate the prevalence, serotypes, antibiotic susceptibility patterns and the genetic capability for Shiga toxin production in Escherichia coli (STEC) strains isolated from dairy cattle farms in two rural communities in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2015 Oct 8;15:204. Epub 2015 Oct 8.

SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.

Background: Diarrhoeal diseases are attributable to unsafe water stemming from improper sanitation and hygiene and are reportedly responsible for extensive morbidity and mortality particularly among children in developed and developing countries.

Methods: Water samples from selected rivers in Osun State, South-Western Nigeria were collected and analyzed using standard procedures. Escherichia coli isolates (n=300) were screened for 10 virulence genes using polymerase chain reaction for pathotyping. Read More

Nat Rev Microbiol 2015 11 28;13(11):722-36. Epub 2015 Sep 28.

National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20894, USA.

The evolution of CRISPR-cas loci, which encode adaptive immune systems in archaea and bacteria, involves rapid changes, in particular numerous rearrangements of the locus architecture and horizontal transfer of complete loci or individual modules. These dynamics complicate straightforward phylogenetic classification, but here we present an approach combining the analysis of signature protein families and features of the architecture of cas loci that unambiguously partitions most CRISPR-cas loci into distinct classes, types and subtypes. The new classification retains the overall structure of the previous version but is expanded to now encompass two classes, five types and 16 subtypes. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2015 Jul 4;15:136. Epub 2015 Jul 4.

SA-MRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Background: Enterococci have emerged as an important opportunistic pathogen causing life-threatening infections in hospitals. The emergence of this pathogen is associated with a remarkable capacity to accumulate resistance to antimicrobials and multidrug-resistance particularly to vancomycin, erythromycin and streptomycin have become a major cause of concern for the infectious diseases community. In this paper, we report the prevalence of Enterococcus in respect to species distribution, their virulence and antibiogram profiles. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2015 Mar 14;15:65. Epub 2015 Mar 14.

Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Saudi Arabia is mostly barren except the southwestern highlands that are susceptible to environmental changes, a hotspot for biodiversity, but poorly studied for microbial diversity and composition. In this study, 454-pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene hypervariable region V6 was used to analyze soil bacterial community along elevation gradients of the southwestern highlands.

Results: In general, lower percentage of total soil organic matter (SOM) and nitrogen were detected in the analyzed soil samples. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2015 Mar 4;15:60. Epub 2015 Mar 4.

Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Krakow, Poland.

Background: Candida albicans yeast produces 10 distinct secreted aspartic proteases (Saps), which are some of the most important virulence factors of this pathogenic fungus. One of the suggested roles of Saps is their deregulating effect on various proteolytic cascades that constitute the major homeostatic systems in human hosts, including blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and kallikrein-kinin systems. This study compared the characteristics of the action of all 10 Saps on human kininogens, which results in generating proinflammatory bradykinin-related peptides (kinins). Read More

Microbiology 2015 Apr 29;161(Pt 4):819-28. Epub 2015 Jan 29.

Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, 90, Cumaratunga Munidasa Mawatha, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a potent hepatotoxin, and increasing evidence suggests that it might also induce kidney injury. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and possible apoptotic effects of MC-LR on a human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK-293) and human kidney adenocarcinoma cell line (ACHN). Cells were exposed for 24 h to pure MC-LR (1. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2014 Oct 25;14:244. Epub 2014 Oct 25.

CBMA (Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology), Department of Biology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.

Background: In a multicellular organism, the extracellular matrix (ECM) provides a cell-supporting scaffold and helps maintaining the biophysical integrity of tissues and organs. At the same time it plays crucial roles in cellular communication and signalling, with implications in spatial organisation, motility and differentiation. Similarly, the presence of an ECM-like extracellular polymeric substance is known to support and protect bacterial and fungal multicellular aggregates, such as biofilms or colonies. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2014 Apr 4;14:83. Epub 2014 Apr 4.

Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Background: The currently accepted thesis on nitrogenous fertilizer additions on methane oxidation activity assumes niche partitioning among methanotrophic species, with activity responses to changes in nitrogen content being dependent on the in situ methanotrophic community structure Unfortunately, widely applied tools for microbial community assessment only have a limited phylogenetic resolution mostly restricted to genus level diversity, and not to species level as often mistakenly assumed. As a consequence, intragenus or intraspecies metabolic versatility in nitrogen metabolism was never evaluated nor considered among methanotrophic bacteria as a source of differential responses of methane oxidation to nitrogen amendments.

Results: We demonstrated that fourteen genotypically different Methylomonas strains, thus distinct below the level at which most techniques assign operational taxonomic units (OTU), show a versatile physiology in their nitrogen metabolism. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2014 Feb 5;14:24. Epub 2014 Feb 5.

Department of Life Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 26, 20133 Milan, Italy.

Background: Antibiotics in current use target a surprisingly small number of cellular functions: cell wall, DNA, RNA, and protein biosynthesis. Targeting of novel essential pathways is expected to play an important role in the discovery of new antibacterial agents against bacterial pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, that are difficult to control because of their ability to develop resistance, often multiple, to all current classes of clinical antibiotics.

Results: We aimed to identify novel essential genes in P. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2013 Dec 6;13:285. Epub 2013 Dec 6.

Marine Scotland Science, Victoria Road, P,O, Box 101, Aberdeen AB11 9DB, UK.

Background: Bacterial kidney disease (BKD), caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum, is a bacterial disease of fish, which is both geographically widespread and difficult to control. Previously, application of various molecular typing methods has failed to reliably discriminate between R. salmoninarum isolates originating from different host species and geographic areas. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2013 Jun 5;13:126. Epub 2013 Jun 5.

Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, Gent B-9000, Belgium.

Background: Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) causes bacterial wilt and canker in tomato. Cmm is present nearly in all European countries. Read More

Microbiology 2013 Jun 21;159(Pt 6):1002-9. Epub 2013 Mar 21.

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China.

Difficulty overexpressing (eukaryotic) membrane proteins is generally considered as the major impediment in their structural and functional research. Lactococcus lactis possesses many properties ideal for membrane protein expression. In order to investigate membrane protein expression in L. Read More

Microbiology 2013 Apr 28;159(Pt 4):814-22. Epub 2013 Feb 28.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 212 S. Hawthorne Dr., Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens BlcR represses transcription of the blcABC operon, which is involved in metabolism of γ-butyrolactone, and this repression is alleviated by succinate semialdehyde (SSA). BlcR exists as a homodimer, and the blcABC promoter DNA contains two BlcR-binding sites (IR1 and IR2) that correspond to two BlcR dimers. In this study, we established an in vivo system to examine the SSA-responsive control of BlcR transcriptional regulation. Read More

Microbiology 2013 Mar 7;159(Pt 3):436-45. Epub 2013 Feb 7.

Center for Oral Biology and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.

Despite the enormous contributions of the bacterial paradigms Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis to basic and applied research, it is well known that no single organism can be a perfect representative of all other species. However, given that some bacteria are difficult, or virtually impossible, to cultivate in the laboratory, that some are recalcitrant to genetic and molecular manipulation, and that others can be extremely dangerous to manipulate, the use of model organisms will continue to play an important role in the development of basic research. In particular, model organisms are very useful for providing a better understanding of the biology of closely related species. Read More

Microbiology 2013 Mar 1;159(Pt 3):421-35. Epub 2013 Feb 1.

Department of Microbial Genetics, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Waldhäuser Str. 70/8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.

Staphylococci are Gram-positive spherical bacteria of enormous clinical and biotechnological relevance. Staphylococcus aureus has been extensively studied as a model pathogen. A plethora of methods and molecular tools has been developed for genetic modification of at least ten different staphylococcal species to date. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2012 Sep 4;12:192. Epub 2012 Sep 4.

Dep, of Microbiology, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.

Background: Monoterpenes present a large and versatile group of unsaturated hydrocarbons of plant origin with widespread use in the fragrance as well as food industry. The anaerobic β-myrcene degradation pathway in Castellaniella defragrans strain 65Phen differs from well known aerobic, monooxygenase-containing pathways. The initial enzyme linalool dehydratase-isomerase ldi/LDI catalyzes the hydration of β-myrcene to (S)-(+)-linalool and its isomerization to geraniol. Read More

Mikrobiologiia 2012 Mar-Apr;81(2):220-6

Department of Biochemistry, Karpagam University, Coimbatore, 641021, India.

Global warming alerts and threats are on the rise due to the utilization of fossil fuels. Alternative fuel sources like bio-ethanol and biodiesel are being produced to combat against these threats. Bio-ethanol can be produced from a range of substrate. Read More

Microbiology 2012 Jan 10;158(Pt 1):69-83. Epub 2011 Nov 10.

Research Area of Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9-1665, A-1060 Vienna, Austria.

In this paper, we report on the in situ diversity of the mycotrophic fungus Trichoderma (teleomorph Hypocrea, Ascomycota, Dikarya) revealed by a taxon-specific metagenomic approach. We designed a set of genus-specific internal transcribed spacer (ITS)1 and ITS2 rRNA primers and constructed a clone library containing 411 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs). The overall species composition in the soil of the two distinct ecosystems in the Danube floodplain consisted of 15 known species and two potentially novel taxa. Read More

Nat Rev Microbiol 2011 Sep 16;9(10):749-59. Epub 2011 Sep 16.

Area Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Austria.

Trichoderma is a genus of common filamentous fungi that display a remarkable range of lifestyles and interactions with other fungi, animals and plants. Because of their ability to antagonize plant-pathogenic fungi and to stimulate plant growth and defence responses, some Trichoderma strains are used for biological control of plant diseases. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in molecular ecology and genomics which indicate that the interactions of Trichoderma spp. Read More

Microbiology 2012 Jan 26;158(Pt 1):26-34. Epub 2011 Aug 26.

Research Area Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Gumpendorfer Strasse 1a, 1060 Vienna, Austria.

Lysis of the prey's cell wall is one of the key steps during mycoparasitism. Genome analysis of two mycoparasitic Trichoderma species, T. atroviride and T. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2010 May 14;10:143. Epub 2010 May 14.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group (AEMREG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa.

Background: To evaluate the antibiogram and antibiotic resistance genes of some Vibrio strains isolated from wastewater final effluents in a rural community of South Africa. V. vulnificus (18), V. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2009 Oct 26;9:224. Epub 2009 Oct 26.

Biosystems Department, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 21, Leuven, B-3001, Belgium.

Background: We advocate unifying classical and genomic classification of bacteriophages by integration of proteomic data and physicochemical parameters. Our previous application of this approach to the entirely sequenced members of the Podoviridae fully supported the current phage classification of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). It appears that horizontal gene transfer generally does not totally obliterate evolutionary relationships between phages. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2009 Aug 20;9:172. Epub 2009 Aug 20.

College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Hubei, PR China.

Background: Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of porcine contagious pleuropneumonia, a highly contagious respiratory infection in pigs, and all the 15 serotypes are able to cause disease. Current vaccines including subunit vaccines could not provide satisfactory protection against A. pleuropneumoniae. Read More

Microbiology 2009 Mar;155(Pt 3):687-98

Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that causes acute and chronic infections in immunocompromised individuals. It is also a model organism for bacterial biofilm formation. Acute infections are often associated with planktonic or free-floating cells, high virulence and fast growth. Read More

Microbiology 2008 Nov;154(Pt 11):3447-59

Research Area of Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria.

The common soil fungus Trichoderma (teleomorph Hypocrea, Ascomycota) shows increasing medical importance as an opportunistic human pathogen, particularly in immunocompromised and immunosuppressed patients. Regardless of the disease type and the therapy used, the prognosis for Trichoderma infection is usually poor. Trichoderma longibrachiatum has been identified as the causal agent in the majority of reported Trichoderma mycoses. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2008 Oct 8;8:174. Epub 2008 Oct 8.

Research Area of Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/1665, A-1060 Wien, Austria.

Background: Sulphur compounds like cysteine, methionine and S-adenosylmethionine are essential for the viability of most cells. Thus many organisms have developed a complex regulatory circuit that governs the expression of enzymes involved in sulphur assimilation and metabolism. In the filamentous fungus Hypocrea jecorina (anamorph Trichoderma reesei) little is known about the participants in this circuit. Read More

Microbiology 2008 Jun;154(Pt 6):1775-82

Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Maurice Shock Medical Sciences Building, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK.

In this study, an MS-based proteomics approach to characterizing the virion structural proteins of the novel marine 'photosynthetic' phage S-PM2 is presented. The virus infects ecologically important cyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus that make a substantial contribution to primary production in the oceans. The S-PM2 genome encodes 236 ORFs, some of which exhibit similarity to known phage virion structural proteins, but the majority (54%) show no detectable homology to known proteins from other organisms. Read More

Microbiology 2008 Apr;154(Pt 4):1229-41

Research Area of Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria.

Light is a fundamental abiotic factor which stimulates growth and development of the majority of living organisms. In soil saprotrophic fungi, light is primarily known to influence morphogenesis, particularly sexual and asexual spore formation. Here we present a new function of light, the enhancement of mycelial growth. Read More

Microbiology 2006 Oct;152(Pt 10):2951-8

Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, 265-1 Higashizima, Niigata 956-8603, Japan.

Diethylpyrocarbonate modification and site-directed mutagenesis studies of histidine-35 in HM-1 killer toxin (HM-1) have shown that a specific feature, the imidazole side chain of histidine-35, is essential for the expression of the killing activity. In subcellular localization experiments, wild-type HM-1 was in the membrane fraction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae BJ1824, but not the HM-1 analogue in which histidine-35 was replaced by alanine (H35A HM-1). Neither wild-type nor H35A HM-1 was detected in cellular fractions of HM-1-resistant yeast S. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2006 Jul 19;6:65. Epub 2006 Jul 19.

Proteomic Core Facility, School of Pharmacy, Health Sciences Campus, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.

Background: Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae biofilm formation is implicated in a number of chronic infections including otitis media, sinusitis and bronchitis. Biofilm structure includes cells and secreted extracellular matrix that is "slimy" and believed to contribute to the antibiotic resistant properties of biofilm bacteria. Components of biofilm extracellular matrix are largely unknown. Read More

Microbiology 2006 Jul;152(Pt 7):2003-12

Research Area Gene Technology and Applied Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Engineering, TU Vienna, Austria.

To identify carbon sources that trigger beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGase) formation in Hypocrea atroviridis (anamorph Trichoderma atroviride), a screening system was designed that consists of a combination of Biolog Phenotype MicroArray plates, which contain 95 different carbon sources, and specific enzyme activity measurements using a chromogenic substrate. The results revealed growth-dependent kinetics of NAGase formation and it was shown that NAGase activities were enhanced on carbon sources sharing certain structural properties, especially on alpha-glucans (e.g. Read More

Nat Rev Microbiol 2006 Feb;4(2):145-51

Department of Cell Biology, ICND202, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.

One of the goals of systems-biology research is to discover networks and interactions by integrating diverse data sets. So far, systems-biology research has focused on model organisms, which are well characterized and therefore suited to testing new methods. Systems biology has great potential for use in the search for therapies for disease. Read More

Microbiology 2005 Nov;151(Pt 11):3679-88

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, Canada S4S 0A2.

This study reports the first direct, high-resolution physical and structural evidence of wall changes during hyphal tip growth, visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in Aspergillus nidulans. Images from AFM and cryo-scanning electron microscopy provided comparable information, but AFM was also able to image and physically probe living cells. AFM images showed changes in the surface ultrastructure of A. Read More

Microbiology 2003 Feb;149(Pt 2):485-95

Molecular Infectious Diseases Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.

Phase variation is a mechanism of ON-OFF switching that is widely utilized by bacterial pathogens. There is currently no standardization to how the rate of phase variation is determined experimentally, and traditional methods of mutation rate estimation may not be appropriate to this process. Here, the history of mutation rate estimation is reviewed, describing the existing methods available. Read More